Making buses better

ConserveNC and the environmental community supports mass transit (buses and rail) because it can reduce the amount of travel by car, reducing fuel consumption and production of pollutants and CO2. 

The Future of Transportation in the Triangle

The Triangle region, particularly Wake County, is getting growing in population and in the number of cars on the road. Not surprisingly, congestion on the Triangle roads is getting worse. The following graphics, from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) Long Range Transportation Plan shows the congestion level of area roads during the evening rush hour. Green lines are free flowing non congested roads. Yellow lines are roads that are approaching congestion. Red lines are congested roads. 

Action: Call Sen. Burr about bike/walking support

This action alert is from Steven Waters of Raleigh. Please help by calling Sen. Burr's office. You may talk to a person or voice mail, but leave a message. It is important for Sen. Burr to know that is constituents support the Cardin-Cochran amendment. His staff will be counting phone calls and he will know how many people called in. Calls do make a difference. It only takes a couple of minutes to make the call. Details are below:

Possible problems with transit

Ann, one commenter on my last post, on benefits of public transportation, pointed out that in order for public transportation to improve the environment people must get out of their cars and take transit to work or other destination. If people continue to drive cars rather than taking the bus or train, the transit program will not aid the environment.

Richard P. predicted (to paraphrase) "if you build it, they will come". Specifically, he asked why someone would want to drive a car, pay for gas, etc. when they could take transit.

I agree that transit make sense. I take the bus or train whenever I can. However, many people still want to stay in their cars. They always have an excuse - they are too busy to wait for the next bus, they need more flexibility, etc.

However, if the bus or train to not go near a person's destination, there is no reason for that person to use the bus or train.

It is important that the transit system being designed for Wake County provide acceptable service for as many people as possible. Buses will need to go to most of the job locations and by as many houses as possible.

The environmental benefits depend upon a transit system that succeeds to get a large number of people out of their cars and onto public transportation.

A benefit of public transportation

One way that more public transit will help to improve the environment is the reduction in gasoline used to power personal cars and the reduction in carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, produced by cars. Buses, of course, burn oil and produce carbon dioxide. But, compared to personal cars, they produce far less per person, assuming that more than a very few people are on the bus.

Light rail will produce even less pollution and consume less energy per person.

A less obvious way that public transportation reduces pollution and gasoline consumption is the reduction of road congestion. Cars burn gasoline and produce pollution while waiting at an intersection or waiting to turn onto a busy street. If congestion is reduced by drivers giving up their cars for a bus or train, oil consumption and production of CO2 and other pollution will be reduced.

Transit - Good for the environment?

We have heard much, particularly in the Triangle, recently about transit. The NC General Assembly has passed legislation that will allow the Triangle counties (Wake, Durham, and Orange) to increase sales tax by one/half cent per dollar to provide for light rail and bus service. Many of us in the environmental community were in favor of the enabling legislation. The next step is for the county commission to place a transit and tax proposal on the ballot (during a regular election) and for the people to approve the proposal. Many people assume that all of us in the environmental community will support the adoption of the tax and the transit enhancements. Maybe… but maybe not.

Public transportation does offer advantages over cars. The light rail and even the bus will produce far less pollution and green house gases than cars (per passenger mile). Less oil will be imported.

However, the savings from public transportation only works if people use it. To clean the air people must stop driving their car and start using the transportation for at least some of their travel. Will they?

If there were no cost to the proposal, it would be a no-brainer. But it does cost money. Would it be better to use this money to provide incentives for other forms of energy conservation?

In coming posts on Conserve NC we will look at some of the details of the transit options and how they will benefit the environment.

Transit Bill in Limbo

The Transit bill, HB148, is still lingering in the Senate Finance Committee. As pointed out in a previous post, the bill should have cleared by committee by now and come before the full Senate.

It is understood that the holdup is a dispute about the 1/4 percent sales tax authority that would apply to 94 counties (all except three counties in the Triangle, two in the Triad, and Mecklenburg, which already has a sales tax supported transit system).

It is unlikely that many, if any, of these counties would even put the sales tax on the ballot. This is particularly true if the state sales tax has to be raised to balance the budget. The environmental community may have to decide if the 1/4 cent tax for the other counties is worth jeopardizing the transit plans for the Triangle and the Triad.

Another factor is the House. If the Senate removes the authority for the 94 counties the House will have to concur with that change. Some believe that this authority was instrumental in getting the original House approval.

The session is nearing an end. Let's hope some agreement can be reached soon.

Transit bill in Senate Finance Tuesday

HB 148, the bill that will allow certain counties, including those in the Triangle and the Triad regions, to raise sales tax to provide for rail and enhanced bus transportation, will be considered by the Senate Finance committee on Tuesday, 6/30, at 1pm in room 544.

We can expect action on the floor of the Senate later in the week.

The real challenge, after the bill basses the General Assembly and is approved by the governor, will be to get a referendum passed in the counties to implement the new power. More than that, if we are to reduce fossil fuel consumption, reduce greenhouse gasses, and reduce traffic congestion, will be to get people to use the transit systems.